A Book Obsession..: Diana Rowland

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Review: Legacy of the Demon by Diana Rowland

, by Kt Clapsadl

Legacy of the Demon by Diana Rowland

Kara Gillian #8

Sidelined demon summoner Kara Gillian has her hands full when dimensional rifts allow demons to cause widespread panic and destruction on Earth. These aren't the human-tolerant summonables she's known before, but demons from the far reaches of the demon realm.

Add three demonic lords with conflicting ambitions to the mix, and Kara has the perfect recipe for global disaster.

The Kara Gillian series has been one of my long running favorite urban fantasy series. So much has happened since the beginning of the series it’s truly amazing when you think about it. Unfortunately, however, this latest installment was missing a lot of the spark that keeps me coming back to this series. From the start, we’re thrown into the middle of things with no explanations of the massive changes from the previous installment. Granted, it’s been a while since I read the last book, but I had to stop reading to make sure I hadn’t missed a book in between. It was simply that confusing, and jumps ahead in the timeline that much. The book just had a different feel about it, almost as if trying to return to the much less powerful Kara days, but unfortunately, it just didn’t work for me. It just felt wrong to make her weak for the sake of being weak. That may what was intended by the author, but it's how it felt to me, and just soured things. But onto the good side of that, Kara is fully owning her new weakness and through it found strength and new ways of doing things/getting the job done

Getting past Kara, and onto the book itself... So much happened in this book, I mean so much to the point of almost frenzy. Sure a lot, and I do mean a lot of unanswered questions from the entire series did seem to culminate in this book, but frankly it was just too much. I would have preferred just a bit less, and considering just how long the book was, removing some of the deluge wouldn't have been an issue. That being said, it's just my opinion, and others might like just how frenetic and jam packed this book is, but it just didn't work for me.

I bounced back and forth between a two and a three while deciding what to rate this book, but in the end I'm going to go with a three. When it's all said and done, the book more than kept my attention and I didn't find myself wanting to put it down, so I just can't justify a 2 star when it's all said and done that I was entertained throughout despite my frustrations. In the end I'm going to chalk this one up to being a bumpy installment and I still look forward to the next in this much loved series.

(Received a copy from the publisher)

Rating:

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Other Reviews:
Urban Fantasy Investigations
Fangs for the Fantasy
Under the Covers

Previous Books:

1. Mark of the Demon

2. Blood of the Demon

3. Secrets of the Demon

4. Sins of the Demon

5. Touch of the Demon

6. Fury of the Demon
7. Vengeance of the Demon

Early Review: Vengeance of the Demon by Diana Rowland

, by Kt Clapsadl

Vengeance of the Demon by Diana Rowland

Kara Gillian #7

Demon summoner Kara Gillian is on the wrong side of the law, and there's evidence to prove it. Too bad the courts don't accept "fighting demonic forces" as justification for murder and mayhem.

Yet Kara has problems that go way beyond her legal woes. When the enemy demonic lords spur their human accomplices into high gear, master summoner Katashi aggressively pursues their goal to establish a permanent gate between Earth and the demon realm. To hell with the consequences for humanity.

The line between ally and enemy blurs as Kara gathers the remnants of her posse to prevent a devastating demonic incursion, but a shattered trust may cost them the war and put Kara behind bars. With treachery rife, and her loved ones in danger, Kara must call upon the essence of who she truly is in order to rally back from a crushing loss.

And if she can't, the world is going straight to hell.

This one is going to be a bit difficult to review. While I never found myself losing interest, and was continually able to stay easily focused on the story, it just wasn't as engrossing as I would have liked. The book seemed to meander throughout a lot of different things to the point where there just didn't seem to be any focus. Don't get me wrong, it was an enjoyable read, I just don't feel like there was a clear plot or even resolution of much of anything by the end especially with that cliffhanger. Granted, she's written some pretty nasty cliffhangers in the past, but this time around I'm not sure it was necessary or really warranted. I just wasn't sucked in enough for the cliffhanger to have had that full sucker punch effect. Typically that leaves me desperate for the next book but this one just didn't have the momentum for that to work.

One thing the book did get really right for me was Kara. She's been through so much and I really enjoy seeing how much she's matured. While it's hard to watch her have to make the hard decisions, she's really become a power to be reckoned with. Then of course the rest of the cast of characters are pretty fabulous too, and they are all fully three dimensional throughout. That's more than a little impressive considering just how large the cast has become. In many series, I forget who the older characters are between books, but this time around I had no trouble jumping back in, which goes to show how real the characters seem. My only complaint in the character department is that there wasn't more time with Mzatal, but hopefully that will change in future books.

In the end, VENGEANCE OF THE DEMON was a decent read that kept me entertained, but I can't help hoping for the next installment to return to the engrossing style of the previous installments. This still is a great series that I'd love see more great reads from, so here's hoping.

(Received a copy from the publisher)

Rating:

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Other Reviews:
Book Junkiez

Previous Books:

1. Mark of the Demon

2. Blood of the Demon

3. Secrets of the Demon

4. Sins of the Demon

5. Touch of the Demon

6. Fury of the Demon

Review: How the White Trash Zombie Got Her Groove Back by Diana Rowland

, by Kt Clapsadl

How the White Trash Zombie Got Her Groove Back by Diana Rowland

White Trash Zombie #4

READERS HUNGER FOR ANGEL CRAWFORD...

It’s zombie versus zombie as the Saberton Corporation declares war against the Zombie Mafia, kidnapping several of their party. It falls to Angel to lead the remnants of her gang halfway across the country to claw their way through corporate intrigue, zombie drugs, and undead trafficking to rescue her friends—and expose the traitor responsible for their abduction...

I loved the first book in this series, it was unique and completely unlike any other zombie book I've read. Plus Angel was a really interesting yet flawed character that you couldn't help falling for. So by the end of the book I was thoroughly hooked. However, I recently picked up the second book and I have to admit that I was less than thrilled with the introduction of the zombie conspiracy happenings. It just gave the series a different feeling than the first one established in my opinion. That being said, I then picked up the third book and started to accept the conspiracies. So, with this one I figured that trend would continue and I would be on board with thing, but unfortunately I just wasn't feeling it yet again. I'm not sure what it is, but I guess most of my issue stems with me not buying the conspiracies. Originally it was sold as other zombie factions wanting to corner the market on certain things, but now it seems like it's more about one woman's extremish hatred towards zombies and her crazy machinations when it all boils down. So it made reading this book just a bit mediocre as I wasn't buying what was being "sold," but that's just me.

My plot issues aside, what kept this book and series for that matter from falling to the wayside was Angel. I adore her character. She's so flawed yet has been slowly and painstakingly inch for inch carving a new and better life for herself. But of course, it's a slow process, and there are setbacks. While she's trying, she still sees herself as that junkie and it does hold her back a bit. But all the same I love seeing her grow and make a new life for her. There's just something to be said about cheering a character on. That being said, I'm a bit frustrated with the ending of this book. I won't get into what it was to keep from spoiling things but it was so far backtracking that it seemed so far out of character that it rang a bit false to me. Perhaps I just don't understand how this issue would have worked in the real world but it just soured things a bit for me especially considering it's her character that really carried this book.

So as you can see based on this review, this installment was rather mediocre for me. That being said, I'm still a fan of the series overall and will be looking forward to the next installment to see what trouble Angel can get herself into.

(Received a copy from the publisher)

Rating:

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Other Reviews:
Rabid Reads
Casual Readers

Previous Books:
1. My Life as a White Trash Zombie
2. Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues
3. White Trash Zombie Apocalypse

Review: Fury of the Demon by Diana Rowland

, by Kt Clapsadl

Fury of the Demon by Diana Rowland

Kara Gillian #6

Demon summoner Kara Gillian bears the scars of Rhyzkahl’s treachery, but she refuses to let them slow her down. She and the demonic lord Mzatal have not rested in their efforts to recover Idris—Mzatal’s summoner protégé who was kidnapped by enemy lords—but now their search has brought them back to Earth.

With the help of FBI agents Ryan Kristoff and Zack Garner, they begin to track down summoners who are working with Rhyzkahl. However, Kara knows Ryan’s true identity, and questions of loyalty threaten to tear apart this group of allies. When Kara intervenes to help a brilliant young computer expert and his bodyguard after an accidental shooting, she quickly learns that Rhyzkahl’s machinations run deeper than she could have ever imagined. The search for Idris takes on a desperate edge as their enemies increase in number, and Kara realizes that an old homicide case may hold the key to their success—or their doom.

With the very fabric of the universe at stake, Kara must rely on her skills, wit, and luck to save her friends and her world, yet ancient vows will have to be broken if she is to have any hope.

But the price of breaking those vows may be her own blood.

Fair warning, this review is going to be more about my feelings rather than anything that actually happened as honestly the entire book is pretty much one giant spoiler. There's so much going on, and the early events greatly impact the latter ones as it's all woven into a very engaging read that kept me sucked completely in from the start. While the previous installment was enjoyable, I was glad to see things back on Earth as much less time was spent in the Demon Realm. It was good to see Kara getting back into her element, even if things have changed. There's definitely an adjustment period as she's still coming to terms with what happened to her in the previous book as well as the changes back home. But that being said, as hard as everything is and will be, she'll only be stronger for it, and I've only grown to love her more.

Now onto the romance aspects. As usual with this series, things are kinda all over the place. Typically I'm not one for characters being caught between men or jumping back and forth, but that being said, I think it kinda works here. Sure Kara does seem a bit promiscuous, BUT when you take everything into account I don't really agree. She's become fully immersed in the Demon realm, and well let's face it, they don't do jealousy or monogamy, but rather celebrate love and affection openly. It's a bit hard to explain, but again it works. Of course this leads to a lot of tension between Ryan and Kara as whenever his human side (Ryan) is in charge rather than his demon alter ego, well he can be a bit of a jerk with his jealous and rather cruelty towards Kara. That being said, I can't help wondering who Kara will end up with in the long run, as putting all the non-jealousy aspects in the demon realm, I still think she'll find the one person (or demon) for her in the end. It's a bit early to place bets especially after how some things played out in this installment, but for the time being, Kara has what she needs and that's all that really matters.

As warned, this was a review about my feelings rather than events, but when you have a book that is as complex as this one, that can't be avoided unless you want to spoil things, which I won't do. Suffice it to say that fans of the series who enjoyed the old murder mystery feel from the earlier books will be pleased with this installment. From action to danger, love and heartbreak, secrets and twisted plots, FURY OF THE DEMON is not to be missed!

(Received a copy from the publisher)

Rating:

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Other Reviews:

Douglas Meeks

Previous Books:

1. Mark of the Demon

2. Blood of the Demon

3. Secrets of the Demon

4. Sins of the Demon

5. Touch of the Demon

Secrets of the Demon

, by Kt Clapsadl

Secrets of the Demon by Diana Rowland

Kara Gillian #3

Homicide detective Kara Gillian has a special talent: she can sense the "arcane" in our world, and there's quite a bit of it, even in Beaulac, Louisiana. She's also a summoner of demons, and works on a task force that deals with supernatural crimes. Her partners are attractive and smart FBI agents, but they're not summoners, and they're not telling Kara why they are on this special force with her.

To make things worse, Kara has pledged herself to one of the most powerful of demons-a Demon Lord-who helped save her partner's life, but now expects things in return. Meanwhile, she's trying to solve a string of murders that are somehow tied together by money, sex, rock music and...mud. But how can she concentrate on the case when she's not even sure who-or what-her partners are?

Kara and the rest of her "task force" are given a job to guard a band because they have received demonic threats, or so they claim. Kara doesn't think the threat is real, so imagine her surprise when something does snatch the lead singer off the stage. It isn't a demon, but it reeks of the Arcane. When a string of murders pop up that have that same Arcane reek, she knows she has to get to the bottom of. Meanwhile, Kara is still bound to the Demonic Lord, Rhyzkahl, and she must keep up her end of the bargain. Of course her partner agent, remains much of a mystery and also resents her for her tie to Rhyzkahl. The tension runs high between them, and the question is whether or not they can work it out for both their own and their job's sakes.

As much as I would have loved to see Kara and Ryan get together, things are really getting frustrating between them. He continually makes her miserable by being so hateful about her tie to Rhyzkahl which is ironic considering she only accepted the tie to save Ryan's life. He also should not be one to throw stones as he has powers and a past that neither of them understand. I realize he doesn't remember any of his heritage, or why the demons call him an oath breaker. I just don't think he should be so quick to judge when he doesn't even know who he truly is. I'm still holding out hope for the two of them, but only if she gains some confidence with him and he ceases his blind hatred of her choices.

Typically in a love triangle situation I have a clear picture of the guy I want to pick for the girl in the very beginning. I very rarely change my mind, nor do I usually have an issue with choosing. At the start of this series I would have picked Ryan hands down, over the demonic lord everyday. However, after reading this book, with Ryan's behavior and Rhyzkahl showing what could almost be called affection toward Kara. I'm actually having a bit of indecision between the two. I think for now the scales are still tipped in Ryan's favor because his caring for Kara doesn't seem to have an ulterior motive like Rhyzkahl, but I have a feeling it wouldn't take much for me to make the leap over towards supporting Rhyzkahl.

There are new dangers and risks that pop up during this book that kept me on the edge of my seat. It was a nice mix of the police case, personal issues, as well as furthering the overall story arc. There were several shocking revelations that I can honestly say I did not see coming. I really love books that have twists and turns that you never see coming, and this was definitely one of them. It also ends on a pretty big cliffhanger that makes me desperate for the next one. I really like the direction the series is going, and it looks like things are going to be pretty complicated in the future. For fans of the series, this book won't disappoint, and if you haven't checked this series out, I would highly recommend starting at the beginning, you won't regret it.

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